In the book, as the magazine's Robert McGuire writes, Buckley "called on his fellow alumni to root out the atheism, collectivism, and liberal dogma he found endemic here. The administration at the time failed to concede the point, and current president Richard Levin ... acknowledged in his opening remarks that the relationship between Yale and Buckley had not been close until the two parties began to make peace 15 years ago."

During the event, McGuire continues, "Buckley's former classmates and colleagues remembered his moral and physical courage, humility, good cheer, love of life, vision, political savvy, patience, and seamanship. They also asserted the continuing relevance of Buckley's critique of Yale, some arguing that the university today is just as intolerant as in 1950, others that it is far worse."